The Guardian Angel
by Cynthia976
Summary: Gray Fullbuster, a doctor by profession, finds himself handling the case of a young girl found unconscious in the darkest streets of Magnolia, brought in by a young woman who unknowingly captures his heart and drives him and his friends through the most illegal parts of the city trying to unveil the mysteries surrounding the child and her past.
1. Chapter 1

The dark gray skies roared and rumbled relentlessly as the heavy rain splattered onto the hard pavement creating an eerie and mysterious atmosphere fit the terrifying creatures of the night. Not a soul was in sight, the people of Magnolia hidden safely in the comfort of their homes, bracing them for the storm that was yet and sure to come according to the trusty weather channel. The downtown allies were even spookier, the empty turns filled with disfigured shadows and creaky windows. The cold emptiness was disrupted by a gregarious boom of thunder followed by a high pitched wail. A girl, barely 12 years of age, shrunk in on herself at a corner of the alley, shivering profoundly and drenched to the bone. A pair of tiny arms wrapped protectively over her cranium as the girl struggled to breathe, taking in short and painful gasps. Hyperventilating, she failed to notice a dark, tall shadow loom over her shivering stature. As the figure drew closer, the bluenette sensing a minor disturbance peered up at the likely assailant with large brown eyes. A choked cry for help forced its way up her throat and she felt a drop run down her cheek. Pain throbbed violently around her skull from exhaustion and the last thing she saw before she gave in, was a pair of dark blue orbs.

was a man with a perfect poker face, or so was he told by many, with his lips sporting a distant and cold smile that matched his professional behavior and eyes pitch black and devoid of any emotion. His movements were perfect and precise, miraculously handling most of the serious cases on his own, be it an infant or a centenarian. Now as he made his way to his next patient, he still grimaced at the quality of the aisle that extended before him although he had been practicing in this hospital for two years. The hospital was as ancient as the city with its infrastructures matching to enormous extents. Crowded and narrow were the streets of Magnolia, the hallways being the same, never wide enough for modern equipment to pass in opposite directions. As unhappy as he was with his working environment, he chose to stay here based on some incidents from his past which was known only to a few. The gloom of the wintry day crept into him like the damp into bare timber. It seeped into his pores, traveling to his heart which beat more morosely.

Shaking off the images from his past, he walked down the hall with the floor decorated with shiny white squares, to his patient's room. He entered the room with a firm authority only to be surprised to see a young girl, barely 10, sleeping peacefully. The only movements were the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, which were the only signs of life as compared to her pale ashen face, half covered by her long midnight blue hair. When was asked to attend a case of serious hypothermia, found in the darkest streets of Magnolia, he expected a mean looking and heavily tattooed woman with a serious addiction to drugs, not an innocent girl with angelic features. One careful look at the child was enough for the experienced doctor to deduce that she had been through hell. Her body was an abstract sculpture of bones, wrapped tightly with her thin pale skin which was filled with tears sewn together in flesh. He walked over to her and stroked her hair softly, his heart clenching at the thought of the little girl being subjected to inhumane torture at such a young age.

"who are you?"

The doctor jumped lightly at the sudden feminine voice. Wasn't the room supposed to be empty?

Ready to chew out the intruder, swung back his head with a plastered angry glare when he caught sight of her.

The owner of the feminine voice was definitely an attractive girl, covered fully in a Russian style hat and thick coat. She carried grace and class as she walked, no glided over to him, her dark blue eyes a clear image of her no-nonsense attitude. Was it just him or did this blue haired beauty emit a certain glow of her own, which along with her rich scent of fresh rain, make his heart thump a bit faster for the second time in his 24 years experience. His dark eyes locked in on her blue orbs, his lips lifting in a smirk as he observed a light shade of pink coat her otherwise pale cheeks.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? "He asked as he leaned against the bed frame, fingers tapping against the rails.

Perfect eyebrows creased on that question as she clearly didn't appreciate the backfire and her pink lips parted, an indication of a fiery reply before her eyes flickered to his white coat that was camouflaged with his casuals underneath.

Flushing slightly, she flashed him a shy smile, "You must be . Juvia is extremely sorry."

"Juvia?" the young doctor asked with a small grin. He had a feeling that this lady would be nothing like the other ladies he had met so far and the thought was refreshing at the very least.

The girl's smile faltered as she bowed her head softly,"Juvia will talk in her own accords and that is in the third person. She doesn't approve of others criticizing her."

Nodding and definitely not disappointed in her reply, he turned back to his patient, not wishing to anger Juvia further, though he had a special consideration for girls who stand up for themselves. Taking out his stethoscope, he listened in on the child's faint yet strong heartbeat. She would turn out just fine with the right amount of nutrients in her diet. While checking her pressure, he felt the older woman come closer and place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Juvia is sorry for speaking so inconsiderately, "she whispered, her thick eyelashes brushing against her cheekbones, "she was bullied her entire life for her way of addressing herself and…..she is in a way ashamed of it."

gave a short nod and let the topic go as he understood her situation completely. He too was bullied all throughout high school by his older half-brother, Lyon Vastia, who he hated with his life. By now his slight attraction to Juvia had increased, feeling sorry for her experiences as well as finding her way of talking, to a certain extent, adorable. He had met this girl only a few minutes ago and somehow she had wriggled into his heart without even trying.

To say that he was shocked would be an understatement as the only other time he had ever felt this way was during his freshman year in college. He and his best friends- Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar and Jellal Fernandes were out hunting for hot girls when around the corner walked in the goddess Aphrodite herself with her all-girl squad. The extremely curvaceous body, luscious golden locks, sparkling chocolate brown eyes and lips the color of a fresh lotus had knocked the air out of his lungs at the first sight. Grey Fullbuster had fallen hard and one look around was enough to see that he wasn't the only one. By the end of two months, his friends had managed to snag her gang mates while he and Natsu were still running behind her. Finally, by the end of freshman year, Natsu had won the chase, Lucy Heartfilia was officially his girlfriend. Grey was disappointed but he was equally happy for his childhood rival and partner in crime, settling his position as Lucy's ever protective brother.

And now as he glanced at Juvia, who was now gently stroking the child's head, he felt those feelings resurface. Her graceful actions reminding him somewhat of Lucy, an heiress no doubt with dignity and sophistication integrated into her blood at a very young age.

The eerie silence was eating at his curiosity to hear her voice again and that prompted him to talk to her, "what's her name?"

"Wendy"

"sorry?" asked as he couldn't make out her hushed whisper.

"Wendy Marvell…..that's her name."

"And you are her….."

"Sister," she answered, momentarily gazing out of the window, her till then bright eyes turning stone cold and her pink lips pursed in a grim line.

Having studied psychology during his early years of college, it was easy for to diagnose her sudden change in demeanor.

She was lying…


	2. Chapter 2

A rich aroma of exotic, spicy dishes filled the luxuriously decorated apartment of Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel. Inhaling the enticing vapors, the third resident of the household, an abnormally blue colored cat, stretched out on his expensive rest cushion, becoming extremely alert, especially when the scent of fried fish tickled his nostrils. He padded quietly into the kitchen and rubbed himself against the white creamy legs that stood by the counter, informing the person of his presence.

Lucy Heartfilia smiled down at her blue pet as he continued to attack her ankles with fervent licks and pawing, frequently giving her the big kitty eyes filled with tears. Rolling her chocolate brown eyes at the cat's antics, she placed a large spicy, lemon fried tuna in his feeding bowl.

"That's the last one you're gonna get, Happy. Hmm…I'll have to tell Natsu to take you for some serious exercise, like the ones Gajeel takes Lily on."

As the cat went off to finish his meal, but not before hissing at her menacingly, Lucy put the final touches to her famous strawberry triple layer cheesecake, special request from her best friend Erza Scarlet, and placed it on the dining table along with the rest of the delicacies. Many would say she had gone overboard with the amount of dishes she had prepared but knowing Natsu and his friends, her effort wouldn't go to waste.

Having finished her herculean task, Lucy walked softly into her living room, the blood red carpets providing a stark contrast to her baby pink sundress and slumped in her favorite armchair, which reminded her of large golden marshmallow. It was the kind of chair that molded around a person on contact, giving them the sensation of warm, loving hugs.

Just like Natsu….

She smiled at the thought of her salmon haired boyfriend, thanking the stars almost every single day for making her give him a chance, even though it was just by accident. Lucy could remember the day they first saw each other, clearly as if it were just yesterday…. the thunderous music, flashy neon lights, combined odor of sweat and perfume….oh the fun she had with her friends, it all seemed so far away. Now everyone was busy with their own things, hardly having time for each other, except for the weekend visits. For her too, the weekdays seem to go by in a blur, being a world famous model sure had its downsides, especially when it's for an internationally acknowledged firm like Fiore's Elite. Sure her one smile is worth more than her father's monthly income, which is self-explanatory as he is the head of the wealthy Heartillia Railways, but the thought of stress and anxiety was enough for her to be down in the dumps …..How she wished she could go back to her college days, when she had all the time and freedom anyone could offer. Shaking off her nostalgia, Lucy surprised herself by giving a small yawn. She peered at the dragon shaped clock by the window through sleep pooled eyes.

6:30….About an hour till Natsu and the others wreck her otherwise mundane life. With that sarcastically peaceful thought in mind, the blonde haired beauty succumbed to a much needed slumber.

Time seemed to drag at an immensely slow pace for Natsu Dragneel, the youngest and most successful CEO of Dragneel Incoporated. For the past hour, he had watched the needle of the rather ugly clock on on the dull wall of an equally dull room take its own sweet time to complete that 180 degree, completely ignorant of the meeting going on. It wasn't his fault at all, he had made sure that his new assistant, Jeniffer Locksar, was aware of his preference of having his meetings on any other day that wasn't a Friday, the day he could go home to her sweet smell of vanilla and strawberries and relish 30 minutes with her before their friends arrived to create an evening of fun and havoc. But somehow this foolish girl had managed to disobey the one order he had given her.

Natsu jumped slightly as the man conducting the meeting switched off the lights and turned on the projector.

Good, he thought, finding the actions suitable to hide the expressions of boredom and annoyance flickering across his face. On the other hand, this did bring back some rather embarrassing memories...the first time he had dared to ask his blonde beauty out on a date after trying in vain for two months. Not that he wasn't handsome, in fact many girls would dream for his one glance, but Lucy wasn't one of them. She was different and he knew he had to be careful. He was competing against the entire male population and he had the entire thing planned to perfection. But lets just say that day wasn't exactly his luckiest and he was rejected for the first time in his life. Though it wasn't and still isn't the best, it would remain one of the most sweetest memory of their college days, especially for Gray and Gajeel.

"Is everything to your liking, Mr Dragneel?"Max asked, a line of sweat budding on his temples, he perfect representation of someone new...someone eager to please. Natsu could understand his anxiety for he too had once been in those shoes, except the fact that he had to please his father, who under any situation was much more difficult.

DING

And all at once the clock struck seven. Natsu internally heaved a sigh of relief and stood up, the entire assembly rising with him. He turned his attention to the newbie who was now sweating puddles and gave him the signature Dragneel glare

"I found your discourse rather plain...informative but plain. So I'd suggest you add something other than internet cut outs, something that you could call your ignoring this one time, if you ever waste my time for this kind of nonsense, you get nothing short of dismissal."

And with that Mr Dragneel left the room...


	3. Chapter 3

The loud clanks of worn out boots echoed off the miserable white walls of the hospital ward adding to her evergrowing nervousness. Fear coursed through her veins but never once did she let it conquer her stature.

She had to stay strong... for Wendy.

Juvia pushed back her sea blue locks and searched the child's pale face for any sign of movement... but there wasn't a single twitch.

Sighing dejectedly she fell into the nearby chair, the day's exhaustion hitting her straight in the gut. For once in her life, she was confused and not knowing what to do infuriated her.

If Wendy was in a better condition, she would have guaranteed her protection with the blink of an eye, but in such a critical position, she knew the little one was anything but safe... especially in this hospital.

Because of him...

The moment Juvia laid eyes on him she knew... the jet black hair, the slanted dark eyes... even the signature smirk... he was identical. A carbon copy of the most dangerous serpent that walked the sullen sands, crushing millions of corpses to dust with the flick of a wrist. The man who made her life a living hell and shattered the core of her once perfect humane life...

"Just you watch Mr. Fullbuster," she whispered maliciously, "I'll destroy you and your family."

Letting out a grunt of bottled anger, she let her dark blue eyes stray to the brown rimmed window, taking in the sight of the beautiful setting sun, immersed in the sky of vibrant orange, hence providing a scenic beauty to the otherwise dull setting.

Juvia smiled, her lower lip quivering slightly as the image brought back memories of a stage in her life, the most brilliant phase, that she knowingly let of her grasp. At that time, so young and immature with fame and money at her fingertips, she took a step that startled everyone. To Juvia, she was trying to push past her boundaries, but it was too late when she realized that the floor beneath her had crumbled, pulling her into a dark abyss from where escape was impossible. She had lost soo much in that fall... her family, her career, her dignity, her friends...

Wait... Friends!

Realization clouded her features as she dug through her pale pink handbag, her fingers finally brushing against the cold metal surface of her cellphone. How could she forget that one person who was oblivious to her fame and money, the one who stood by her through thick and thin, the one who she could always count on...

Still, Juvia hesitated... That was before she took her disastrous decision and 3 years had passed since they last spoke. With that history, would she trust Juvia the same?

Her doubts faltered as soon as Wendy's malnourished body came into view and this was definitely not the time nor the place to doubt herself. Hoping for the best, she pressed the call button. A few rings later, when Juvia decided it was no longer worth the wait, a sleepy yet sweet voice answered with a yawn...

"Hey, Lucy Heartfillia speaking"

Lucy Heartfilia had never in her life hated her life so badly. A 15 min ride to the downtown county hospital and she got stuck in the traffic within the first 5 minutes. Slamming her head against the steering wheel, she cursed the seven skies to the very extent. For once she was in a hurry and poof... there appears a magical train of snail racing cars.

Growling she pulled out the phone and put the first number on speed dial.

"Natsu!"

"Lucy, where in the fucking hell are you!?"

Lucy winced slightly at the harshness of his tone but expected nothing less from a fiance who had come home to find his girl missing.

"Ya... about that," Lucy laughed sheepishly, "Something really important came up and..."

"I thought Fiore's Elite usually closes at 4"

"Natsu, this isn't related to work."

"But babe, the others have arrived and the party is no fun without you"

"Awww, darling. I'll be back before you know it, especially before the after party."

A deep laugh echoed through the phone confirming that he was looking forward to some quality time alone too. Their ever-increasing workloads were a nuisance and they had hardly seen each other in the past week.

"You better be, Luce. So what is this... Hey! Put that back you pea-brained stripper!... Babe, I'll call you later, Gray is being an ass again."

Lucy smiled, both at their antics and the thinning traffic, "Please, try not to kill each other."

"Will try, no promises... Love you."

"Love you too, Natsu."


	4. Chapter 4

Tick... Tick...

" Where is she?," Natsu half yelled half screeched as he watched his clock strike nine. Lucy hadn't been answering any of his calls and she hated wandering the streets alone at night. He was also worried about this mysterious situation that came up which she told him nothing about. He was 99% sure that he was overreacting but the remaining 1% was starting to get to him.

Natsu took a deep breath and relaxed into Lucy's marshmallow chair, inhaling her vanilla scent, checking his phone every second to see if there was any reply to his gazillion calls. On seeing none, he returned back to the dejected state," Damn it, Lucy..."

" Hey, Natsu. Look what I found."

" You better had not been ruffling through my stuff, Gray, or I will burn your ass and hand it to you on a platter."

" Well, technically it's not your stuff... it's Lucy's," Gray added sheepishly. He felt a fist smash against his nose as flew in head first into one of Lucy's cute dustbins.

" U WENT THROUGH LUCY'S THINGS?... U FUCKING PERVERT!"

" Oh YOU IDIOT... That hurt!" Gray yelled rubbing his nose," It's not like I went through her underwear closet or anything. It was lying on your bed and I think it's important."

Natsu glared at him skeptically and took the book Gray handed to him...

" A photo album?"

Gray nodded," Of our college days... Lucy is a very immaculate person, so it did surprise me when this photo just flew out when I opened it. Well, the album being out, sprawled on your bed was a dead give away..."

Natsu glanced at the photo in Gray's grasp. Lucy was smiling brightly at the camera, her wet skin glistening in the afternoon sun. Her arms were wrapped tightly around a blue-haired young girl, with eyes so blue they rivaled that of the purest skies.

"You think Juvia has something to do with Lucy's mysterious emergency?"

"You know her?"

"Yes, of course, I know her... She was one of Luy's closest friends."

" How come I didn't know about her?"

"Maybe because Lucy thought you were a pervert?"

"What did u say, you slimy lizard!"

"Did you turn deaf too, stripper?"

"Knock it off for a second and pay attention, genius. This girl showed up at my hospital with an unconscious child covered with bruises. Didn't look so trustworthy."

Natsu couldn't help but scoff. Lucy had introduced Juvia to him at one of their girl's night out and he was positive he couldn't find a more sweet or innocent person.

"Gray... Knowing her she probably rescued the kid. "

Gray listened. But he could not believe it. That girl at the hospital was no social worker. She seemed like someone with a lot of street smarts, someone who, though innocent, had emerged from the dark side. One look at Natsu and he knew that he admired her... a typical trait of the Dragneel clan... Appreciation for those with a heart. But somehow ... he knew better.

"Natsu... call Gajeel and Levy and tell them to meet us here ASAP."

"Look, Gray, sure I'm concerned about Lucy, but I'm sure she is just a little late. And if she is with Juvia then she will be perfectly alright."

"How long have you known me," Gray asked Natsu, looking him straight in the eye.

Without any hesitation, Natsu put a certain metalhead on speed dial.

Within a few minutes, Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel stood around a tiny blue head who was typing furiously on her laptop. After a few more uneventful minutes, she slammed her lap to the table and let out a dejected sigh.

"Sorry guys, it seems like Juvia is totally off the radar. I can't track her or her current whereabouts and I'm the best on the entire police force."

"Its ok, shrimp," Gajeel said, patting her on the head," We'll figure out some other way to find her... that is IF she turns out to be missing."

Levy sighed. Juvia was back and she didn't know if that was a good thing. She had changed. She was no longer their old Juvia and Gray and Natsu had every right to be worried about Lucy's safety.

"Gray, you said that she was with a child right?"

" Ya, she said Wendy was her sister. I don't buy it though. But why did you ask, Levy?"

"Gajeel... Put Jet and Droy on high alert security for Wendy. Tell them to inform us in case anyone enters the room... especially Juvia. Send them her picture too."

"On it, "Gajeel mumbled and immediately conveyed the message. He didn't think that this was too serious but apparently that wasn't the case.

Gray and Natsu exchanged alarmed looks which caught Levy's eyes. Even though Gray didn't seem to trust Juvia, he had no idea how dangerous this could turn out to be. Levy knew. Lucy knew too. And knowing Lucy, she would go to any extent to help her friends.

"Levy?"

She turned to the source of the sound and found Natsu with a dangerous look in his eye.

"Yes, Natsu."

"Are you sure that Lucy didn't just lose track of time?"

Levy nodded, "Meeting up with Juvia as such is harmless. But she is surrounded by dangerous people and situations. Situations we can't afford to guess with."

"Explain."

She gulped, feeling a bit... no, really intimidated by him at the present. Levy had always wondered how sweet and reckless Natsu had taken over the multinational Dragneel corporation, but now... seeing him all serious with the no-nonsense look and sharp eye, she finally understood how he had topped Fiore's most influential men list.

"Lucy and I met Juvia on one of Lucy's swim clusters. She was one of Phantom University's elite four. Lucy didn't stand a chance. After a couple of meetings, we had become good friends. Then we had dinner dates... that's where Natsu met Juvia when he came to pick up Lucy. For a long time after that things were great, we became closer and then one fine day she told us that she got an offer from Mika Productions that would skyrocket her musical career. We had known that she could sing but we thought that her dream was to swim to her heart's content. I had warned her about the consequences of dropping out of college but she didn't listen. She wanted this. Lucy and I were shocked but we supported her to do what she wished to do. And so she left. Took on the stage name Rain and rocked the world with her music. "

"Wait!," Gray yelled," I know Rain. I've seen her on the Music Awards thing. The girl I saw at the hospital looked nothing like her."

"Let me finish, Gray! As I was saying, she became famous, released a lot of albums, had a huge fan following... but she never did a stage performance. Nobody knew who Rain was. Until the day she won the Grammy. She was excited to go get the award. Natsu and Lucy had gone to the function as well. ..."

"Yes...Luce acted super weird that day. She said she had a huge surprise and when Rain came to get the award, she just froze up and ran out. When I followed her out, she was on the phone with someone and when she finished she asked me to take her home."

Levy nodded, "That's because Juvia was the one who was supposed to be receiving the award but instead they established that Jenny Realight was the real Rain. Juvia went against them and filed a case but they got her arrested. I don't know what she has been doing after she got released but all I know is that if Lucy got involved, she might be in actual danger."

She jumped when Natsu, devoid of any emotion, got up and walked to the coffee table, his fists balled tightly, knuckles turning white at his anger and frustration. He picked up his phone and dialed," Dragneel. Get me Crime Sorciere, pronto..."


End file.
